


Under the Weather

by wright_back_atcha



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Censored Swearing, F/M, Gen, Gwen and David are expecting a little one, Gwen and Max have a heart to heart, Hurt/Comfort, MomGwen, Sickfic, and max is slighly older (12 or 13ish), dadvid, implied child neglect reference here or there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-29 01:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13916112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wright_back_atcha/pseuds/wright_back_atcha
Summary: Max isn't feeling so hot. Gwen gets it.





	Under the Weather

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going through major Camp Camp withdrawals so I wrote another fic to fill the void.  
> This is pretty much self-indulgent sickfic starring Max and Mom!Gwen because Mom!Gwen is an amazing concept  
> Also, I try not to swear (yet I watch Camp Camp, hmmm) in my writing so most stuff is censored, so to speak (sans a few words) Apologies in advance if that makes things clunky or hard to read!!

Gwen woke up suddenly to the sound of retching and was surprised that, for once, it wasn’t her.

She sat up slowly on the couch, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Sitting up caused her blanket to slip off of her, and she forward to pick it up, mindful of her bulging belly.

She looked around the living room, blinking blearily. _Can’t believe I fell asleep in the living room again…well, actually, I can,_ she thought. Even before she was pregnant, David would warn her that it wasn’t good for her to fall asleep on the couch so much, but now he was even more concerned.

She remembered their conversation last night; David pleading with her to come to bed with him, and she promising she would after _just_ one more episode. By this point in their relationship, David knew that “one more episode” didn’t mean much when it came to reality TV. He had sighed, smiling at her then slipped a kiss on her cheek before going to bed at a reasonable hour.

Gwen really had planned to on getting to bed last night. She wanted to be close to David… Gwen had never been one for cuddling, but something about having a tiny human growing inside of her made her want to be just a little more affectionate. Weird.

Before she could get lost in her thoughts, Gwen heard someone retching again, the sound making her own stomach turn in sympathy. Whoever was in the bathroom was, apparently, having quite a rough morning.  

She heard the toilet flush, a few rough sounding coughs, the sink running a few times, and then finally the door to the bathroom opened. From her position on the couch, she couldn’t see who had been in there. She’d have to investigate then.

“David?” She asked quietly, waiting for a response. All she heard was footsteps walking rapidly away from the direction of her and David’s room. That must mean…

“Max?” The footsteps stopped. Silence. “Max, is that you?” She asked again. Nothing for a few minutes, then she heard quiet curse. “Damn it” the voice mumbled from the darkness in the hallway.

“Max, could you come here for a second?” Gwen asked, her voice softening even more. She heard a sigh, then Max walked into the living room

If Gwen was going to be honest, the kid looked like hell. Max had always sported slight bags under his eyes, but this morning those bags looked even darker, and somehow more sunken in. His normally dark skin looked ashen, and his curls were a mess, some strands sticking to his sweat-slicked forehead. He refused to look at her, and instead looked down at the carpet.  “What?” He asked curtly.

“Uhhh…you feeling okay, kid?” Gwen asked, sitting up straighter and looking more alert. She looked Max up and down, concern twisting its way through her chest.

Max shrugged, then let out a loud sniffle. “I’m fine”, He mumbled, still avoiding her gaze.

“You didn’t sound like you were fine. And you look like s--t” Gwen said, looking straight at him despite his refusal to meet her gaze. “Come here, sit down next to me.”

Max hesitated, too tired to snap back at her with a snide remark. Instead, he listened to her, sitting at the other end of the couch, arms crossed. “I said I’m okay.”

“Uh-huh…Sure…” Gwen said, leaning towards him to place the back of her hand to his forehead. Just as she thought; Max was burning up.

“Yikes, you feel like a freaking oven,” She commented, worry creasing her brow. Max was quiet, his arms remaining crossed and his body faced away from her.  He usually has a comeback ready for her, and his silence was a testament to just how poorly he was feeling.

“Hold tight,” Gwen said as she slowly lifted herself off the couch. She walked (though she felt like she waddled nowadays) into the kitchen and grabbed a can of ginger ale from the fridge.

She handed the can to Max, who scrunched his nose at the familiar green and gold can. “Ugh, this s—t tastes disgusting.”

“Not true.” Gwen protested. “It’ll help your stomach. Trust me. Morning sickness is a b—tch, and this stuff is a godsend”,  Max mumbled something under his breath,  but decided to take a drink. He scrunched his face in disgust, but took a few more sips nonetheless.

Gwen slowly sat back down next to him. She glanced over at Max, who seemed to be staring off into space, the can resting absentmindedly in his hands. Then he turned to look at her, eyes brows raised. “Wait a minute…why are you even up this early, anyway?” He asked.

Gwen shrugged. “I fell behind on a season on a of Teen Prison Mom Wars, so I-“

“UGH, never mind. I think I got the idea.”

Gwen flashed a rather mischievous grin. “You can always watch it with me, you know. You’re missing out.”

“Hard pass.”

\------

They sat in silence (except for Max’s sniffles and nose blowing) for a while, resting in comfortable silence. Gwen eventually reached for the remote, and turned the TV back on, volume low so as not to wake up David.

“If you even think about turning to one of your crappy reality shows…” Max threatened, glowering at her.

“Oh, Max. Come on. I know you wanna Keep up With the Kardashians just as much as I do.”

Max snorted, and finished off the remaining ginger ale in his can. “Yeah f----ing right.”

Gwen laughed, then turned to something they could both agree on. Some cheesy action movie. There was nothing else really on so early in the morning, anyway.

“Feeling any better?” Gwen asked.

“Mmm…I guess. A little.” Max replied, however, he looked off to the side and down at his feet rather than meeting her eyes.

“...It’s okay if you don’t feel okay, Max,” Gwen re-assured. “If you still feel sick, just let me know.”

“It’s not that,” Max said. “It’s just…you know…” He trailed off.

“I think I’d know a little bit more if you told me,” Gwen replied as gently as she could.

Max was silent again, his eyes attuned fixedly to the TV.

His silence caused Gwen to feel a little down. She and David had taken in Max around three years ago, once his parent’s utter neglect of him had really come to light during his time at Camp Campbell. She figured he probably still had a hard time opening up to people, although he was significantly less…prickly as he had been when she first met him. She would have a hard time opening up too, if the two people in life she thought would for sure would love her, instead resented her very existence and wished she wasn’t around, and showed their disdain by leaving her in a run-down summer camp every year just so they didn’t have to deal with her… So she didn’t push Max to say anymore. Instead, they kept watching TV.

Sunlight peeked through the blinds as the morning wore on. After a while, she noticed Max had fallen asleep. She thought maybe she should help him get back to bed, but he looked so comfortable curled up on the couch. The hardened pre-teen that she and David had come to love always looked so peaceful when he was asleep. She wished he could look this content all the time, if not for the wounds life had already inflicted on him. Instead, Gwen simply laid her blanket over him, letting him snooze where he was.

After a while, Gwen felt her own eyes get heavy, and she dozed off too.

——-

She woke for the second time, this time to a gentle tapping on her shoulder. Before she could look to see who it was, Gwen noticed a heaviness and warmth on her right side. At some point during their joint nap session, Max had shifted over towards her side of the couch. He lay against her side, breathing heavily.

She smiled, then glanced upwards to see David looking down at the two of them worriedly. Gwen shifted slightly, trying to be careful to not wake him up.

“What’s going on?” David whispered, looking between the two of them.

“Max isn’t feeling so hot,” She whispered back. Max stirred. “So, I’m keeping an eye on him.”

“Is he okay?” David asked worriedly

Gwen used her free hand to reach over and touch his forehead. “Mmm…he still has a fever.”

“Maybe I should stay home…” David replied.

“You don’t need to stay home, David. I’m not a baby. You can still go to work,” Max muttered drily, rubbing his eyes. “Also, you both f---king suck at whispering.”

David rubbed his neck, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry, Max! But are you sure you’re okay?”

Max shrugged, and upon realizing he was leaning against Gwen moved slightly away from her. Gwen had to admit, that stung a little. 

“He’ll be okay”, Gwen chimed in. “Besides, I’ll be here. Maternity leave has its perks, you know.”  She said, ruffling Max’s hair. He futilely swatted at her hands, pouting.

“Oh, but maybe pick up some extra medicine on the way home. And ginger ale.” Gwen added.

David nodded, and wished them both a (very cheerful) goodbye before heading out the door.

Gwen stood up and stretched, loosening up stiff limbs, before heading into the kitchen.

“Well, I know it’s pretty early…but I’m starving,” Gwen announced. “How are you feeling, Max? Think you can handle breakfast?”

“…I’m good,” Max replied, seemingly sinking further into the couch. He felt better compared to earlier this morning, but food was still far from his mind.

Gwen decided on scrambled eggs and bacon, and while she was cooking she decided to give Max’s school a call to let them know he wouldn’t be coming in today. Before she headed back into the living room, she also grabbed a small bowl of cheerios, a piece of toast and glass of water for Max. 

He looked his lackluster breakfast, eyebrows raised. “You can just pick at it if your stomach feels better later,” Gwen explained. “But you really do have to drink water; don’t want you getting dehydrated or anything.”

Max felt something flutter in his chest. Something that felt warm, and full. Even though he had been with David and Gwen for a while now, it still made him feel…weird, when they showed so much concern for him. He still wasn’t exactly used to this feeling…but at the same time, he couldn’t say he hated it either.

\-----

The day went by slowly, and they spent most of the day in front of the TV. Gwen caught up on some reading, and Max slowly absorbed himself with movies most of the day, dozing on and off. Gwen woke him up every now and then for medicine (which he greeted with protest and grumbling each time).

“Being sick sucks ass” Max announced, suddenly.

“It sure does kid,” Gwen replied.

“And so do all these movies”

“Don’t see anything else you like?”

Max shrugged “Not really.”

“Weeeeelll,” Gwen started, a mischievous glint in her eye. “We could always-”

Max, who was lying down on the couch, gave her a playful kick on her thigh. “No. Way. No reality television.”

“Oh come on, Max, one episode of Dr. Phil won’t kill you.”

Max let out a very loud, very dramatic groan. “You know, trash tv isn’t probably good for that baby. The kid might come out sounding like one of those valley girls if you keep it up. Like the Flower Scouts or something.”

Gwen placed a hand on her stomach, letting out a laugh. “Oh God, no. That would kinda suck, to be honest. I like my valley girl accents _behind_ the television screen, thank you very much, not coming from my children.”

“Like, moooom, I just, like, totaaaaally need like, you know, a new Louis Vuitton Purse to totaaaaaly match my new Silver Rolls Royce. Eveeerybody knows a girl needs a matching purse for her caaaar!” Max said, mockingly.

Gwen laughed harder. “Max, you do a very convincing accent you know that? You can’t tell me you aren’t secretly watching my shows when David and I aren’t here!”

“I am not!” Max huffed. Gwen laughed at the offended look on his face. She giggled for a few moments, before she realized that something Max had just said stuck out to her.

“It sounds like you’re hoping on having a baby sister, huh?” Gwen said, smiling softly.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Gwen shrugged. “I don’t know. When you talk, I just get the feeling you always refer to the baby as a girl. Like just now. And you have before too.” Gwen giggled, remembering something. “Like, when I first told you I was pregnant, didn’t you say we should name the baby Maxine so her name was ‘almost as awesome as yours’”?

Max shrugged, slightly embarrassed “Yeah, I guess.”

“Why’s that?”

“Hmmm…” Max thought for a moment. “I don’t know, just a feeling, I guess. Intuition.”

“Huh, so I bet you’re looking forward to a little sister to tease, huh?” Gwen said, but very suddenly stated to regret her words.

Max seemed to deflate at her last sentence. Gwen realized he had pointedly avoiding her gaze since she had started talking more about the baby. He had scooted even farther away on the couch, knees pulled up to his chest. His shoulders slumped, and something uneasy seemed to be brewing beneath his eyes.

“Max, are you feeling okay?” Gwen asked worriedly. “Do you feel sick again?”

Max closed his eyes for a moment, then buried his face in his knees. “I’m okay,” He replied after a while, but it was bitingly clear to Gwen that something was wrong.

Upon sensing Gwen’s worry, Max looked up at her again briefly. “Really, I’m okay. Just...I guess I just felt kind of dizzy.”

Gwen reached over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “I’ll get you some more water, okay?” She said, getting up towards the kitchen.

 _That was…strange._ Gwen thought. She knew his reaction had something to do with talking about the baby, and not just him feeling sick (although that probably hadn’t helped). She desperately wanted to dig deeper, but at the same time didn’t want to pressure Max. She sighed, pouring water into a glass absentmindedly while she tried to come up with a solution to helping him.

When she got back to the living room, Max was already falling asleep again, his head nestled into the crook of his elbow as he laid on the opposite arm of the couch. _Poor kid,_ she thought to herself, settling back down on the couch. She was about to reach for the remote to turn the volume back down when her phone chimed, alerting her to a text message.

 _How is Max doing?_ David.

 _A little better._ Gwen replied. _Fever is down, but he still isn’t feeling great. His stomach still seems kinda upset too, he’s barely eaten anything._

_Hmm…that’s not good. Maybe I should leave work early?_

_It’s fine. I mean he’s drinking water and all, so he’s not dehydrated. I’ll heat up some soup later and see if he can eat that._

_Ok, let me know if anything changes!_

_Will do,_ she replied back. Her fingers hovered over her screen for a minute; she considered telling David what had happened between her and Max, but decided against it. Instead, she set her phone back in her pockets and went back to her book, keeping a close eye on Max.

\-----

Sleep didn’t seem to do Max any good this time around. Gwen noticed that he definitely looked worse after waking up. The bags under his eyes had darkened, and he looked paler than he did in the morning.  He stayed nestled into the opposite end of the couch, very quiet.

Gwen scooted towards him. “You okay?” She asked quietly. Max shook his head; no, then.  Gwen sighed sadly, and gently ran her hands through his curls. When Max didn’t swat or scoot away, she rubbed his back, in an attempt at comforting him. Max couldn’t admit it, but he was grateful.

“I know this will sound like the worst idea ever,” Gwen said, still rubbing his back, “But you gotta eat something, kid. If you don’t, you could feel worse.”

“I’m not hungry,” Max grumbled quietly.

“I know…but try just eating a little bit, okay? It might help your stomach, a little.”

Max didn’t reply, so Gwen got up towards the kitchen. Before she could take a step, however, Max weakly grabbed on to the leg of her pajama pants.

“Max?” Gwen asked, concerned. His hand was trembling against her thigh.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” She asked, slowly sitting back down. “Max, talk to me. What’s up?”

He stayed silent for a while, before speaking up. “I feel bad.” He suddenly blurted out, as if he had been holding in a breath he’d been waiting to exhale.

“I know, Max. I can only imagine. You’re pretty sick, buddy.”

“No! N-not because of that,” Max replied quickly.

Gwen raised her eyebrow. “Because of what?” She probed, hoping Max wouldn’t close himself off again.

Max paused for a long time before speaking again. “Because,” he started, and Gwen noticed that his voice was trembling. “Because all day, you’ve been…you know, you’ve been doing stuff for me.”

Gwen was stunned. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it wasn’t that. “What do you mean?” She asked, her own voice barely above a whisper.

“I mean…I’ve been here all day, just kind of lazing around,”

 _Because you’re sick, you goof,_ Gwen wanted to say, but didn’t want to interrupt.

“And you know, you’re the one who should be taken care of, right? I mean, you’re the one that’s knocked up, but you’ve been moving around all day, and I just feel like s--t because, I mean…you should be the one getting taken care of…”

“Max, I’m pregnant, but I can still move, you know,” Gwen couldn’t help herself. “It’s actually good for me to move around”

“But you’re sick too, right?” Max said. “Morning sickness, right? So you shouldn’t be taking care of me, I’m just…getting in the way…”

“Max-“

“And I don’t want to get in the way,” Max was speaking quickly, and the glassy glare of his fever flickered behind his eyes. “I don’t want to get in the way. You shouldn’t have to take care of me,” Max shivered, suddenly both cold and hot at once.

“Max, calm down,” Gwen said, but he couldn’t stop. F—k, what was wrong with him?

“You and David…you have the kid to take care of now,” He continued. “And I don’t want to be in the way of that. I don’t want…want you taking care of me when you have the baby…because, that’s your and David’s actual kid and I…I don’t want to mess up your guy’s family, okay? I don’t want you two to feel like you have to have me around, anymore, because now—"

“Max!” Gwen said, sharply, and a little bit angrier than intended.

Max looked at her then, suddenly snapped out of his reverie. After (semi) coming back to his senses, he couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes. He had never meant to say any of that. He would never admit it, but he’d been secretly insecure about the whole baby thing. He was scared; scared he’d be forgotten again, abandoned again. If his own parents didn’t want him as their only child, why would Gwen and David want him? Especially after all the s—t he’d put them through during camp.

Before he could register what was happening, Gwen had swept him up into a tight hug. Even though he felt gross, sick, and was probably sweaty, she hugged him.

“Max,” she started, her voice breaking.  “Don’t you say that. Don’t you _ever_ say that, again. You’re my kid as much as this child is. And David’s too. You are **not** a burden Max. and not in the way, okay? David loves you and…I love you, Max.”

For a while they sat there in silence, Gwen holding Max and him sitting there, uncomfortable and slightly stunned. After a while he slowly and weakly wrapped his arms around her as well, and began sniffling-which Gwen suspected wasn’t from him being sick. They held each other in silence for a while, until Max began to squirm a bit in her grasp.

“Ah, sorry kid.” She said while letting him go. “Didn’t mean to suffocate you or anything.”

Max shook his head. “No, it’s okay.” He said quietly. “Uh, thanks. For, you know…”

Gwen nodded. “Any time, buddy.”

“You know,” Max started, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “That kid is one hell of a kicker.”

Gwen took a moment to realize what he was talking about. “Heh,” she smirked. “You could feel that, huh? I guess she wanted to get in on our moment too. She was basically trying to kick herself to freedom for a moment there.”

“Ah,” Max said, smiling wider. “You said she.”

“Hm…I guess I did. Either you’re rubbing off on me, or it must be fate. I’ll tell David to pick up some pink paint and a crib on the way home.”

“Screw those lame-ass gender norms.” Max said, slight slightly while wiping the remaining tears from his eyes.” We’re gonna paint her room black with flames and so she grows up to be a badass.”

“Uh, not happening, kiddo.”

“Just you wait and see. I’ll call Nikki and Neil over to help paint!”

“Whateeeeever you say, Max.” Gwen replied teasingly.

Although still pale, Max had seemed to perk up.  They went back and forth for a while, before Max admitted he was starting to get hungry. Visibly relieved, Gwen made Max and herself a pair of sandwiches before joining him in front of the TV again.

\-----

David stepped inside the front door as quickly as he could, desperate to get away from the chill outside. He entered a dark and quiet living room, save for the blue white glow and sounds coming from the television.

He scanned the living room quickly, then quietly put his bags of groceries on the floor. He smiled up seeing Gwen and Max, fast asleep on the couch. Gwen was up against the end of the couch, and Max was right next to her, laying against her arm. David smiled as he heard their slow and even breathing-they were thoroughly asleep.

David gently placed the back of his hand against Max’s forehead, glad to feel that whatever fever he had seemed to have calmed down. Max stirred slightly, pressing in against Gwen and holding on to her arm. David suppressed the urge to take out his phone and snap a picture for his family scrapbook. Maybe when Max was feeling better… for the time being, David simply adjusted the blanket over the pair and let them sleep the rest of the evening away. 


End file.
